Soviet HI-FI
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Here's my audio stand made in the USSR. Does anyone want me to film a video of this thing?
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The tape recorder looks very advanced for a USSR era product.
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Nevertheless. The Olymp tape recorder models has also IR remote control.
The old picture (end of 80s) |
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Are those laptop VU meters?
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The deck (not the electronics) look remarkably like a Studer/Revox A700
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From inside
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I have only one USSR deck, an Elfa I think it is. Nowhere near the same league as the kit pictured! |
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Here's more soviet reel recorders: Olymp-006, Idel-001-1, Elektronika-003, Elektronika-002, Sanda-012.
First numeral means the class of the machine, higher in this case. |
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To keep things in proportion we should also observe that it later came out that the Americans had cut a number of corners in the space race. Lives were sadly lost on both sides.
I'd rather engineer a good future for everyone than try to keep score of the past. Those recorders do look quite good. The back view shows a 3-motor mechanism with a direct drive capstan, all with outer-rotor motors. Now, there isn't a plant somewhere in Russia still making tape heads is there? David |
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Now that we've discussed the space race, can we please stay on topic.
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Regarding the mechanics, its quite likely that a complete deck was bought in from say Switzerland for the Revox and Japan for the Akai/Tascam deck and these were married to Soviet style electronics and ergonomic design.
Post 6 looks like a Revox A700 chassis but with probably Soviet electronics Post 8 Picture 1 looks like a cross between an Akai and a Revox. Picture 2 looks like a Tascam Picture 3 looks like a Revox A700 right down to the tension sensor rollers but with probably Soviet electronics and styling Picture 4 looks like an Akai Picture 5 looks like a cross between an Akai and a Philips. |
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I'd be very interested to hear more about where these designs came from. I worked with a Romanian engineer (a postdoc at a university where I was working) who (pre 1990) had been employed for a while in connection with an agency whose work was to reverse-engineer products bought-in from the west, and recreate them with what was available within the soviet bloc. This struck me as a considerable engineering challenge all of itself. Today the Chinese have it somewhat easier, as companies formerly in the west export production (and subsequently sometimes R&D) with full support and insight into where the product comes from and how it is wished to develop it. Although un-credited knock offs also abound!
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Look at Soviet cameras, they were often Leica copies, beautifully made and a fraction of the originals cost, also look at their watches again based on others designs, they were quality and cheap. These tape machines are no different, they will be copies of high end machines, improved where necessary and sold for a considerably lower price. The main reason was to obtain foreign currency and consumer goods were a way of doing this, Soviet Russia had many trade deals with the west for machinery and it worked well for both sides, a far cry from what we see now in the world. |
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Again, well understood and interesting but no more politics please.
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I like the look of those bits posted by the OP, but then I've always had a soft spot for Rigonda gear!
And I'd still love a Korvet turntable - https://theaudiophileman.com/korvet-...urntable-news/ |
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I don't think it was always copying in the Eastern block, I believe the Poles were licenced to build their Grundig clones.
In fact the last time I saw a R2R for sale on the high street (actually Oxford street in London) it was one of these Polish machines in the mid 80s. |
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Hi
That's an interesting you-tube video. The logic control seems to be made up of numerous logic gates all neatly laid out - no LSI or custom chips there. I suppose the mechanics will be copies of some sort in that most 3-motor reel to reel machines are pretty similar! I assume they will have been inspired by, say, the A700, but looking at the video the mechanics don't quite look like Revox. I'm impressed that they all seem to use 10.5" reels - many otherwise excellent Western machines were let down for me by their restriction to 7" spools. I think the difference electronically is that the Western manufacturers strive for innovation whereas the Soviet bloc tended to use tried and tested technology. There are advantages to both approaches, of course. |
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This picture was taken off the utube video, though blurred, it shows, the tension sensors, the brakes and the heads which all look as though they're out of an A700. even the rear shot shows the pulley where the tape counter belt would have gone, exactly like an A700.
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